With the Lord’s authority let me say this: Live no longer as the ungodly do, for they are hopelessly confused. Their closed minds are full of darkness.... But that isn’t what you were taught when you learned about Christ... Instead, there must be a spiritual renewal of your thoughts and attitudes. (Eph. 4:17-23 NLT).

Saturday, September 30, 2006

The Inevitable Process of Aging—A Glorious Promise

I had the idea about how amazing our bodies are, in that we grow and develop until we are in our thirties, at which point, our muscular development is at its highest, our minds are matured and sharp, our cardiovascular system is strong, we are nearly immune to disease (ie. The flu will not harm us), and we are genetically at our peak. AS small children we were frail, breakable and susceptible to disease. But, we grow stronger and better. From that time onwards, our bodies stop growing and there is a turn about. We begin to decay, never will our strength and reflex be the same, our organs begin the slow inevitable process of slowdown. Our immunity system weakens day by day, our bones begin to decay and death is an inevitable process in the making. As humans, we are either growing, or dying genetically, physically with little concept of plateau.

Now we know of course that all of the decay is the result of sin and the curse, and in this verse we see a glorious parallel. From the moment of birth, we are under sin: "For I was born a sinner—yes, from the moment my mother conceived me (Psalm 51:5 NLT). That means from the moment of conception we are "sold under sin" and we are corrupt in mind and body, we are "accustomed to doing evil" and on the inevitable decline to dissipation, depravity and damnation.

I have been reading in First John, and I was really struck by this particular idea from the third chapter:

28 And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may haveconfidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.29 If you know that He isrighteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born ofHim.

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, thatwe should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us,because it did not know Him.2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it hasnot yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, weshall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.3 And everyone who has thishope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure (1 John 2:28-3:3 NKJV).

The miracle of Salvation is being "born again"; "whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God" (italics added I Jn. 5:1). From the moment of our "New Birth" we are no longer on the trajectory and inevitable, we will become "like Him". We are becoming, not dying, our spiritual muscles are strengthening, our consciences are being built into a nervous system that overcomes sin, minds being sharpened in the truth and spiritual life, the abundant life, the joyful life is more and more ours! Now "it has not yet being revealed" exactly what this will look like in the end, just as none of us knows how far we'll age, or whether we'll grow frail in this way, or that, we know it is inevitable that we will die. But in Christ, we have this hope, that although we don't know how exactly we'll look, or to what extent we shall see it in this life, but we will live eternally free from sin!